Terra Verde

California’s Fight for Solar Power

California currently has over 1.4 million small-scale rooftop solar systems installed, and California leads the nation in the number of households that have solar panels. Key to California’s relatively swift rise to being a leader in solar energy production is a solar incentive program called net-energy metering, which credits homes, businesses, all types of buildings that are powered by solar energy for the electricity they export to the utility grid. But in recent months, reacting to pressure from the utilities, state officials have proposed major cuts to the net-metering program along with a tax on solar panels – which has prompted  a contentious debate in California over the past year. In this episode, Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director of the California Solar & Storage Association, and Esperanza Vielma, Executive Director of The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, join Terra Verde host Fiona McLeod to discuss California’s fight for solar power.